


Queen of the Rodeo

by TeamScienceMegaNerds



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, i knew my religious upbringing would come in handy sometime, what happens when a rancher and a christian meet?, you'll just have to find out i guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2019-11-19
Packaged: 2021-01-15 15:40:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21255719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TeamScienceMegaNerds/pseuds/TeamScienceMegaNerds
Summary: “But you stay away from the Danvers' Ranch.” If Ms. Williamson knew Sam outside of bible study and the occasional smile they shared on Sunday mornings, she would know that telling Sam not to do something is a sure-fire way to get her to do it.orSam decides to take up religious canvassing and meets a very intriguing rancher named Alex Danvers





	1. Chapter 1

When Sam was sixteen, pregnant, and terrified, the last thing her mother said to her was find a church and you’ll be alright. For the past ten years, she’d done just that. Town to town, some stable most not so much, the first place Sam always went was a church. Midvale is no different and because she is alone for the first time since Ruby was born, she goes out of her way to involve herself in the day to day activities of her new church. 

It’d been tough watching Ruby depart for her summer camp. A month might not seem like much in the grand scheme of things, but Sam had struggled to make meals for one and her house was so quiet that she had to constantly play music or risk losing her mind. She wasn’t worried or stressed, just lonely in an unfamiliar way, and she suspects that’s what got her into this mess in the first place. 

“You’ll love it,” Ms. Williamson tells her grabbing her arm in a way that she supposes is friendly, but it feels more possessive than Sam would like. They’re in the middle of sorting through clothing donations in the sanctuary, boxes, and people everywhere. Sam is on unpacking duty with Ms. Williamson. “Just door to door stuff. And you’ll meet some lovely people.” Then, like a switch, Ms. Williamson grabs Sam’s arm tighter and leans close enough for Sam to smell the peppermint scent of her arthritis cream. “But you stay away from the Danvers' Ranch.” If Ms. Williamson knew Sam outside of bible study and the occasional smile they shared on Sunday mornings, she would know that telling Sam not to do something is a sure-fire way to get her to do it. 

Sam had only been in town for six months but she’d heard the Danvers family mentioned twice. Apparently, a whole family used to live there, but now it’s just the oldest daughter who runs the ranch on her own. It sounds like hard work. Wyoming is not a forgiving territory and if Sam could be a friendly face, then she was going to be it. 

“I think I’ll give it a shot,” Sam says with a shrug. From the look of Ms. Williamson’s face, Sam’s lack of conformity is not something she’s used to. 

“She ain’t one of us,” Ms. Williamson mumbles into her styrofoam cup of stale coffee. 

“I thought the point was to help people find a way. No matter who they are.” The cold shoulder that Ms. Williamson throws her way doesn’t strike Sam as particularly effective. About an hour into sorting, Sam decides to forgo a late evening snack and a preview of the choir’s Sunday performance in favor of driving into the country. 

She likes this drive. She does it every day on the way to work but in the summer the surrounding mountains and luscious green fields make Sam happy. Genuinely. And if Sam hadn’t been so happy - and lonely - then she might not have taken a sharp turn and driven up the long road leading to the Danvers’ ranch. She might not have grabbed her bible. And she certainly wouldn’t have knocked at the door. 

It’s the waiting game that unnerves her the most. The ranch itself is beautiful and well taken care of. Sam sees horses grazing out in a fairly large open field that takes up most of the 20-acre lot. There’s the main house and a large barn behind it. Sam wonders how one person could ever take care of all of this alone. She’ll have to figure it out another day because she doesn’t think Alex is home. 

“Who’s there?” A shotgun pointed in her direction is exactly the thing that Sam did not need today. She screams. Loud. And then, she reckons with the fact that she’s so far out in the country that no one can hear her. “Oh…” The weapon’s lowered and Sam spots a woman wearing bootcut jeans, blue flannel that’s rolled up to her forearms, and a baseball hat thrown over her hair. If Sam wasn’t so unnerved by the gun, she’d pay more attention to the fact that this woman is a sweaty mess. “You’re wasting your time,” She says nodding toward the bible. “But if you want a glass of water or something, I could use one too.” She doesn’t wait for Sam, as she strides up her front porch and swings the door open. 

Everything about this situation has alarm bells and red flags popping up in Sam’s brain but she follows anyway. Stupidly, that’s for sure. When she steps into the house, it appears just as modest and undecorated as she might assume, but the kitchen is quaint and organized. The woman’s back is to her, the shotgun resting against the counter, while she makes coffee. “I told them to stop sending people here-.”

“They didn’t send me. In fact, they seemed mighty eager for me to stay away from you,” Sam explains. The woman turns around and smiles at that comment. She pours Sam a glass of water and sets it on the counter without a word. “Mrs. Danvers-.”

“It’s Alex,” She corrects. “And it’s ‘Ms.’ if that’s all the same to you.” The coffee percolates on the stove and Alex slides into a chair. Sam can visibly see the tension drain from Alex’s shoulders and when Alex takes off her hat, her sweaty hair is finger-combed back into something that isn’t quite presentable but charming nonetheless. “Do you have a name?” Sam stops staring and clears her throat.

“Samantha.” Alex’s eyes find the bible again, she looks a lot less hostile than she had before, but maybe it’s because she’d shed the gun. “Sam.” Somehow, even though Alex is wearing dirt, sweat, and hay on her clothes and tracking mud on the floor, Sam feels self-conscious about what she’s wearing. Her summer dress suddenly feels too short. The way she parted her hair feels too young. Under Alex’s gaze, Sam is uncertain about everything, including what to do next. 

“I’m sorry you came all this way-.”

“I’m not…” Sam clears her throat again. She reaches for the water, gulps some down, and starts again. “I’m not like the other people who came here. I’m not here to convert you. This is just…” Sam holds up the bible slightly. “Something that we can turn to if you want.” 

Alex stands and heads to her cupboard. She grabs two mugs. “Sit down, then. The last thing I need is someone saying I’m not hospitable.” This seems like a good sign at least. Sam takes a seat at the two-person wooden table and admires a beautiful orchid that’s sitting in a ceramic pot on the table. “My mom bought that for me,” Alex explains, setting a mug in front of Sam. “Every time she visits, she makes sure it’s still alive. That’s her way of checking in.” There’s a bitterness to the comment that feels like a stranger to the warmth and sweet hazelnut flavor of the coffee. 

“Where is she?” 

“Florida. Retirement has worked wonders for her.” Sam notices Alex’s calloused hands, the farmer’s tan on her arms as she tugs off her flannel and reveals a worn white t-shirt and the way she keeps looking outside to check on the horses. “You’re new here?” 

“Hardly. I have a few months under my belt.”

“And before that?”

“Arizona. But I got laid off and somehow someway, ended up here.” Sam shrugs it off. “How are you?” 

“Hm.” Alex smiles for the first time but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “Funny question to ask someone you don’t even know.”

“I’m trying to get to know you.” 

“Okay.” Alex reaches for the bible and flips through it. This isn’t absentminded carelessness. There’s purpose in Alex’s eyes. There’s something familiar about it and that gives Sam hope, though she remains unclear of what exactly she’s hoping for. “I gotta get the horses settled. But…” Alex closes the book gently and slides it back toward Sam. “If you want to come around again, I don’t mind.” 

“Really?”

“Yes, really.” Alex stretches her arms and stands up. “I promise not to shoot you if you promise not to push it.”

“I won’t.”

“Good.” Alex walks her to her car. The goodbye is unceremonious but clear. Sam will be back the next day, bible in tow, to talk with a woman who seems like she hasn’t wandered off her ranch in years. 

Sam keeps an open mind as she was always taught to do but that doesn’t stop the nerves from sneaking up on her the following day. Sure, Alex won’t pull a gun on her, but there was still something different about this woman that Sam didn’t understand. The way she’d moved around the kitchen resembled something like a dance. Sam didn’t know how to participate in it, not yet. “You’ll have to give me a minute!” Alex shouts from out in the field. She’s grooming one of her horses, so Sam leans against the fence and watches. 

Alex is well in her element out there. Sam holds her bible close to her chest, awestruck wouldn’t be an overstatement. Thankfully, Alex is finished soon enough, and she joins Sam near the fence. “You might as well leave that in your car.” Today, there’s something playful about Alex and the suggestion. Sam follows Alex into her house again, but she leaves her bible on a table near the door before they go into the living room. “How was your night?” Alex asks. Sam sits on a large couch staring at what seems to be a very happy family photo of the Danvers family. Alex is younger in the picture but most of her features are the same. Now, of course, her hair is much shorter but what little Sam has seen of Alex’s smile is present in the frame. 

“Um, nice. Boring,” Sam admits. “You?” 

“About the same.” Alex enters the room carrying two mugs of coffee. “I thought about you a lot though.” Sam is almost startled by the admission. Almost, because Alex seems to register exactly how flustered Sam gets at the thought, and she enjoys it. 

“Me?”

“Yeah. I wondered what exactly you’d have said to me.”

“What do you mean?” 

“If I told you that I was lost and I wanted to find God again.” Alex sits right beside Sam on the couch. Their legs touch, Alex’s jeans pressing against Sam’s bare knee, and then - as if on purpose - Alex’s arm brushes against Sam’s. “What would you have said?” 

“But you didn’t say that, did you?” 

“Would you have read to me? Or offered to take me to church with you?”

“Neither.” Sam holds Alex’s gaze. “I would’ve talked to you about my journey. And you would’ve listened.” 

“Tell me then.”

“You don’t really care. If this is a game…” Sam starts to stand but Alex grabs her wrist to keep her there. 

“It’s not.” Alex nods and leans back on the couch. “I wanna know about you.” 

“I was pregnant in high school. I didn’t have anyone to turn to. The first church I went to, they fed me, gave me a place to stay, and got me a job. I know that’s not the same experience for everyone. But when people are good and they have real faith…the world is different.”

“And how many ‘good’ people do you know?” 

“Not many.” Sam sets her mug down on a plain block of wood that Alex is using as a coaster. “But a few is enough for me.” 

“I always thought it was beautiful.” Sam can only feel Alex’s jeans, brushing against her leg. Every movement is threatening to make her crumble. Being this close to someone, anyone, is bringing up this bashfulness that she doesn’t understand. And it must, of course, have almost everything to do with intimacy. The fact that Alex is a woman has nothing to do with it. 

“You always thought ‘what’ was beautiful?” 

“Unconditional faith.” Alex spots the bible on the table. She stands, retrieves it, and returns to her spot beside Sam. Only closer this time. “If I asked you to open this book and read me a passage, then I would know you. Fully.”

“You think so?”

“I know so.” Alex sets the bible down on Sam’s lap. “I always thought that if I asked all those people who came here and judged me before they even knocked at my door to do this very thing, they wouldn’t. They wouldn’t know how to share their faith with me. It’s a lot to ask from you, but it takes a lot for me to listen.” 

“Did it occur to you that knowing someone, really knowing them is terrifying?”

“Yes.” 

Sam looks down at the bible, her fingertips grazing the frayed edges of the book. She flips it open to a page that’s already dog-eared and reads. “He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings, you will find refuge. His faithfulness will be your shield.” Sam doesn’t look up from the pages for a long time. She knows Alex is watching her but she stills. Had she given in to something she didn’t understand yet? Or was this a trade, like Alex has suggested? 

“You have a beautiful voice.” Sam is astonished by the comment. She’s nothing more than reddened cheeks and eyes that can’t seem to focus, while Alex traces her finger over the word that Sam just read. Sam doesn’t know what to do or say when she realizes that she’s starting to wish that the bible wasn’t in her lap and instead, Alex’s hands were touching her bare skin. 

It isn’t a thought that she’s used to, nor understands. She’d never seen a woman and felt this kind of need. “Have I offended you?”

“No, it’s…” Sam closes the bible. She feels ashamed of the way she’s feeling and cornered by her own thoughts. “Would you like to read more? I can leave this here-.”

“It won’t sound as good in my voice. Keep it.” 

“Well…” Sam crosses her legs, one over the other, Alex’s eyes follow intently. “I don’t think it’s fair that you know me now but I don’t know you.” 

“You can ask me anything.” Alex grins. “I don’t bite.” The tone of the comment makes Sam think that Alex does, in fact, bite. 

“Do you get lonely out here?” The surprise shows on Alex’s face. 

“How can I get lonely? I’m never alone.” Alex finishes the rest of her coffee. She grabs Sam’s hand and pulls her to her feet. She doesn’t let go until they’re standing in the barn. A large speckled grey horse looms over them. “I wake up at 5 every morning. I have a cigarette at noon and 9 and as long as I have that, then I’m happy.” 

“That sounds like an easy life.”

“It is.” Alex pats the horse, they both look very comfortable together. “Sometimes there are distractions. Trouble comes in many forms.” 

“Do you have any other family out here?”

“My sister visits more than my mom but besides that? No.” 

“What about…?” 

“You can just ask you know. If you need to know why everyone whispers about me, then I’ll tell you.”

“I don’t care for gossip,” Sam assures her. “And whatever they’d have to say, I’m certain it wouldn’t be true.”

“It is true.” Something about that fact gives Alex great joy. “I’m not as much of a fucking menace as I used to be.” Sam flinches in a way that she might call childish at the way the swear word comes out of Alex’s mouth. It’s not something she’s used to hearing. “If you ever feel like riding, you know where to find me.” It sounds like the first time Alex has offered something like this. Whereas the invitation to come into her home had been hospitable - ‘the right thing to do’ - there was something far less formal about this. If Sam lingered on it any longer, she might’ve wondered if Alex had any friends at all or if Sam was the first person she could stand to be around. 

Sam is clumsy about her intrigue. She purposefully leaves her bible behind. The gesture doesn’t go unnoticed. Even at home, Sam can’t find a way to keep Alex off her mind. Mindless chores feel mindless and without her bible to lean on memory is her wavering guide. She misses Ruby. She misses dinner for two, even though their kitchen gets too hot, and they have to escape to the table outside to eat. 

She remembers something that’s always stuck with her. Church isn’t just for worship, it’s a sanctuary. So she drives and drives. Clearing her head and not her heart. She parks and enters the open church and prays. 

Now when Sam prays, she doesn’t ask for a lot. Instead, she finds that these are the necessary conversations she needs to get through her long days. At church, she isn’t closer to God, but the ornate stained glass is something beautiful to look at. 

Even in the dark.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is where the M rating comes in...

In the sanctuary, she can’t find the words. She returns the next night and searches for something to say. Something to offer that explains her discombobulated feelings. She comes up empty and empty isn’t how she wants to feel before she drives all the way to Alex Danvers’ house to find someway to name her need. **  
**

It’s a mistake. 

She knows that from the moment she pulls up the driveway and sees four trucks and two cars already sitting there. Music emits from Alex’s house and just as she thinks about getting back into her car and leaving before anyone knows she’s there, Alex steps out of her house carrying a lighter and a pack of cigarettes. “Hey,” She lights up and approaches. Her legs aren’t as steady as they normally are and when she gets closer and into the warm porch light, Sam notices that Alex’s cheeks are tinted red like she’s been drinking. 

“Hi.” Sam can see a few people moving around and laughing in Alex’s living room. “I can go.”

“You can stay,” Alex offers. “Just a few friends over.” 

“Are you drunk?” Alex laughs and waves her hand around like that’s enough of an answer.

“Getting there.” Alex takes another few drags before stomping out her cigarette. “Come on, my friends like a pretty girl.” As they reach the door and Alex opens it to let Sam pass, she adds, “I do too.” 

“Shut up,” Sam mutters getting a playful laugh from Alex. 

Sam doesn’t expect to find a large group of people playing cards, drinking, and listening to music. These are people she’s never seen before. Sam isn’t used to that kind of unfamiliarity in such a small town. They welcome Sam with open arms. She declines to join in on a poker game and almost regrets it when she realizes that Alex isn’t playing either. “You like music?” 

“Everyone likes music.”

“I mean…not your chorus bullshit or whatever they force you to listen to at church. I mean music.” Alex’s smile is infectious in a way that it’s never been. This time Sam feels like she’s a part of the playfulness. Alex flips through a few LPs and places a vibrant red one on her record player. Music - crooning and wayward music - fills the room. 

Sam is in a trance. Caught up in Alex mouthing the words. A shot glass hits the table and cheers fill the room. There is glory here, even if it’s the tainted kind. Velvet gloves, you still a stunner. Alex’s eyes are on her. Without the protection of a little book filled with many words, Sam feels far too seen. 

_Queen of the rodeo. You rode on in with nowhere else to go._

Sam feels inexplicably warm. The windows are open, summer nights out here feel different than only a few miles away at her own house. One of the poker players stands, grabs Alex’s hands, and presses his body close to hers and they sway softly to the music. They sing the song together, like two old friends catching up after years away. It all comes back easily.

_Stary-eyed, a little younger. _ _The night is long, your days are numbered._

Sam wishes she could be held like that. Not by anyone but Alex. She’d say as much if there weren’t so many people around. Still, Sam finds herself traveling to the coffee table. She grabs a glass and pours herself too much before going to down the shot. Alex grabs her arm before she can knock it back. _Beyond this town lies a life much sadder. Babe, I know. Another evening to show._

“What’re you doing?” Alex’s words are slurred more now. Her grip is tight as she pulls Sam away from the crowd and into the hallway. All Sam can feel is Alex’s hand. All she can hear is the song. “You won’t find salvation in that bottle-.”

“You really need to shut up.” 

“I wish you’d make me.” Alex takes the glass out of Sam’s hand and downs the whiskey. “What’d you come out here for?” Alex takes a step back. With her back pressed against the wall, Alex looks like a photograph. Slightly disheveled and handsome enough to call home about. Sam stares and stares. _I see you around, still around, still around. Steal the crown. _“If you want me, I’m yours.” 

“You’re crazy.” 

“Okay.” 

“This isn’t a game. I’m supposed to be here to help you. To teach you-.”

“And that’s why you keep coming back? That’s why you left your bible here?” Alex crosses her arms over her chest. “I don’t think I’m the lonely person here.” Alex touches Sam’s cheek, cradling her in a way that nearly softens Sam’s gaze. _Queen of the rodeo. You rode on in with nowhere else to go. _“I know you, remember? And I know everybody else in this house. If you want a place to be, then look around you.” 

_You know the tune so the words don’t matter. Beyond this town lies a life much sadder._ “Don’t make me question my faith, Alex. You can ask a lot of me, but not that.”

“That’s the last thing I want.” Alex looks down the hallway. The poker game is getting louder, nearly rising above the music. “You don’t have to play poker. You don’t have to drink. Just be yourself, okay.” 

“Okay.” Alex grabs her hands. They do little more than move a few inches left and right, Sam pressed against Alex’s body. She takes it all in, all of her. Her smell. Her warm breath. The way Alex smiles against her cheek. _Babe, I know. Another evening to show. _

_Queen of the rodeo. _

Sam practically sprints out of Alex’s house an hour later. She catches Alex looking at her with such a gentle desire that Sam panics. Sam is counting down the days till Ruby’s return now more than ever. 

The church offers her refuge as always. The conversations she finds there are hollow compared to what she had with Alex. But it’s something. “My neighbors’ boy said he saw you driving around the Danvers’ place.” It’s an accusation if she’s ever heard one. In front of the entire women’s bible study no less. 

“She’s a friend,” Sam tells them. They all look on, equally scornful and distrusting. 

“Don’t get too friendly with the likes of her.” 

“I wish someone would tell me why everyone is so harsh on her. She’s been nothing but kind to me.” 

“She’s kind when she wants something. You’re a smart and beautiful woman, I think you can guess why she keeps you around.” Sam shuts up after that. There’s nothing she can say to rid this town of ts prejudice. All she can do is stay behind after bible study, fold her hands, and pray. 

It’s late. Too late to be out alone, even in a church. Sam resigns herself to go home soon. She could use a shower. Anything to wash away the guilt and fear that she constantly feels. It’s footsteps walking down the center aisle that brings Sam back to her present. She doesn’t know whether to smile or laugh when she sees Alex, but her approach is confident. Just enough to give Sam pause. “Fancy meeting you here,” Alex jokes as she slides into the pew beside Sam. “I hear this place has a pretty good sermon on a Sunday morning.”

“What are you doing here?” 

“Same as you.” Alex folds her arms in front of herself and closes her eyes. Sam stares. “I bet you’re wondering what I pray about.”

“You don’t have to tell me.” 

“I pray about love. I pray about finding it, losing it, and wanting to find it again.” Alex keeps her hands folded. Her head is only slightly bowed. Just enough to mirror Sam. “That’s what life is, isn’t it?” 

“There’s something beautiful about the way you see the world.” 

“Don’t get lost in it.” Alex closes her eyes. “My beauty, I mean.” Praying with Alex turns out to be a revolutionary experience. Alex appears completely unafraid of her taboo presence in the church. The warmth of her body makes Sam resist the urge to move away. Alex smells of nothing but clean linen and sandalwood. “I haven’t seen you in a little bit.” 

“I know.”

“Was it something I did?”

“It’s…” Sam shakes her head, she still doesn’t know what she’s so afraid of admitting. 

“You left your bible again.”

“I can come get it tonight? If you’re not busy.” Alex stands and cracks her knuckles. She looks larger than life standing in the middle of this place. The bright lights - lights too bright for any church - reflect off the stained glass and illuminate Alex in a way that makes Sam terrified of what she might do when she goes to Alex’s house. 

Alex drives with pace and Sam isn’t used to these rural highways enough to follow quite as fast. But Alex lingers near her motorcycle when Sam finally arrives. “You drive like a grandma,” Alex says with a big grin. She pulls out a cigarette and that signals to Sam that it’s 9, which is far too late. “Go ahead in.” 

Sam wishes she could run around the house. Gather up every ounce of information she can find. Something to confirm what everyone in church had been saying. Stay away from her, she’s trouble. But all Sam manages to find is her bible, sitting at the kitchen table next to an ashtray and half-filled glass of water. 

The simple thought of Alex reading Sam’s bible - the one that sits on her nightstand - does something to her. She jolts when the front door opens and closes and Alex enters the kitchen in a waft of cigarette smoke and fresh air and it’s just as confusing and conflicting as Sam has been feeling recently. Alex leans against her counter - making jeans and a plain white shirt look like her own brand of armor. Sam isn’t ready to battle. “Will you read something for me?” Alex nods toward the bible. “Something beautiful. Songs of Solomon, maybe.” 

Sam reaches for her bible, throws it open to a random page in the middle of the chapter. She prepares to be watched and heard in a way that she can never expect of anyone else in her life. She reads and reads. She reads to create a storm big enough to drown them both out. “Let us rise early and go to the vineyards. Let us see whether the vine has budded and its blossoms have opened and whether the pomegranates have bloomed.” Her voice trembles. Alex is still exactly where she has been this whole time, but Sam can feel her. She can feel the change. “There I will give you my love.” Alex gently takes the bible out of Sam’s hands, closes it, and places it on the table. 

“Come here.” As she stands, Sam feels strong hands grab her hips and pull her close. She questions her reaction. The ease with which she gives in and kisses Alex’s lips and tastes smoke and yearning. Sam is lifted and her legs wrap around Alex’s hips. She thinks, with a sense of finality, that they’re going to Alex’s bedroom. When Sam feels her back touch the floor she feels her whole body respond with reverence. 

To be wanted in this way builds fire between them. 

When Alex moves to her neck, Sam resists the urge to just let it happen. That’s how she’d experienced pleasure before, a vessel for someone else’s lust and power. She grinds against Alex’s pant leg, her want and desire clear, as are the muffled sounds she makes against Alex’s mouth. “Can I touch you?” Sam nods her head, aware of the fact that Alex’s hands have been wandering and seeking permission to go further. “Sam?” Alex pulls back and looks her in the eyes. Sam feels flush and faint and she never wants to be apart from Alex ever again. “Can I touch you?” She asks again. 

“Yes, please.” Sam thinks that she should know what to expect. With the way things have grown so frenzied between them, she expects something fast. Something that leaves her craving more of Alex. But Alex is slow. Fingers moving in and out with something that Sam can only describe as languid. Sam notices that Alex is moving so slow because she’s watching her. Watching Sam’s lips part and eyes roll back and they rock against the kitchen floor. “Fuck.” 

“I could listen to you say that forever,” Alex whispers in her ear as she picks up the pace. Sam completely loses herself in Alex’s arms. She scratches and clings to Alex’s shirt, hoping that her message is clear. _Take me, please have me._ “You feel good,” Alex tells her as she pushes deeper. “It’s okay, it’s okay,” Alex coaxes. Clearly, she can feel Sam’s orgasm coming. 

Sam is taken by surprise. 

Alex holds Sam in her arms. “Are you okay?” 

“I’m…” Sam closes her eyes and manages to stand on wobbly legs. “I should go.” Alex doesn’t beg her to stay. Sam doesn’t expect nor does she want it. That would be far too difficult to walk away from. She’s nearly happy that she left. Happy enough to drive home, at least. But not happy that her legs shake as she showers and certainly nowhere near content as she climbs into her bed and can still feel Alex between her legs. 

Sam is thankful that the next day is Sunday. It gives her an excuse for everything. She wakes up early, fixes herself a decent breakfast, and puts on her Sunday best. She doesn’t care much for standing out but she cares about being on time. She enjoys the simple greetings, seeing kids hurry off to Sunday school, while all the adults file into the sanctuary. Her hand trembles, ever so slightly, when she finds herself sitting in the spot where she and Alex were just the night before. 

The hush that comes over the crowd is palatable. Sam jerks her head up in time to see Alex walking down the aisle and finding a seat near the back alone. Her hair is neatly combed, she’s wearing dress pants, and the button-up is the cleanest thing Sam has ever seen her in. If Sam was braver she’d join her. Instead, Sam listens to her pew neighbors yammering on about ‘the nerve of her’. 

The sermon is shorter than usual. She suspects it has to do with the way the Pastor keeps staring at the back of the church, right at Alex. When it’s over, Sam doesn’t sit and marvel at the stained glass windows or talk and seek out a slice of cake in the kitchen, she practically sprints outside. 

“…what’d you just say to me?” Sam wishes she could get there before Alex throws a punch, but grabbing her arm and pulling her away from the scuffle is all that Sam can manage. 

“What are you doing here?” Sam yells before she somehow ends up on the back of Alex’s motorcycle. Everyone is looking at them and a man has a bloody nose, Sam isn’t sure that she can ever go to church again. 

Sam holds onto Alex too tight as they drive. It’s terrifying, yet refreshing, and Sam doesn’t even realize her eyes are closed until they’re pulling up to Alex’s house and Alex hops off the bike, doubled over laughing. “God, I’ve missed church.” 

“You’re crazy.” Sam smiles at the way Alex can’t seem to control her laughter and her cheeks keep puffing out before she begins cackling again. “You’re a jerk. Are you listening to me?”

“I’m having fun, sue me.” 

“Everyone couldn’t stop looking at you.”

“I noticed,” Alex tells her as she finally calms down. “I also noticed that you didn’t look at me once.” Alex grabs her bag off the back of her bike, unzips it, and wiggles out a war-torn bible. “I had to go into my family storage unit to find this.” 

“It’s beautiful.”

“Yeah.” Alex stands there awkwardly for a moment. It’s the first time Sam has truly seen her uncertain. “If you want to forget about what happened last night…”

“I wouldn’t know how to forget it even if I wanted to.” Sam takes a deep breath, “which I don’t.”

“Are you hungry? I’ve got…I dunno, something in the fridge, I’m sure.” When they get inside, Sam sees that Alex does have plenty in her fridge, but she doesn’t seem to know what to do with any of it. Sam is more than happy to take over. Alex doesn’t quite know what to do with herself, so she plays some music and makes ice tea and hovers around the kitchen nervously. “This is erotic.”

“What?” Sam nudges Alex’s arm. 

“Cooking is sexy.” 

“Your mother should’ve washed your mouth out with soap, you know. You don’t know how to behave.” 

“You can teach me how to behave.” Alex rests her hand on the small of Sam’s back. Sam is reminded of what those hands are capable of and she starts to blush so much that Alex actually pushes her hair back behind her ear, just so she can see the effects of her flirtation. “I can teach you how to behave too.” 

“You’re bold.” 

“Yeah, but you like that about me.” 

Lunch is wonderful. They bench talking about religion and instead find themselves arguing furiously over the best restaurant in town. Alex does not back down, ever. Sam enjoys what little leeway she has because she has apparently made a wonderful meal. 

There’s also touching. There are no accidents between them. Alex touches Sam’s forearms and briefly wiggles around Sam’s earlobe. Sam grips Alex’s thigh for all of a minute and flicks her nose. These are their codes for permission and after lunch, while Alex is cleaning the dishes, Sam picks at her thumb and finally asks, “How big is this house?” 

“Uh…” Alex dries a cup and throws the towel over her shoulder. “Four bedrooms, two and a half baths.” 

“Can I get a tour?” 

“If you want.” Alex shuts off the faucet and abandons the rest of the dishes in favor of leading Sam down the hallway and showing her a small bedroom. “This used to be mine. I moved into a bigger room when I was thirteen. That’s where all the trouble started.”

“I keep hearing about all this trouble, but no one has really told me what it is.” 

“I had sex with the pastor’s daughter,” Alex says nonchalantly. “More than once.” 

“Wow.” Sam laughs. “Okay.”

“No big deal. I like that kind of trouble.” Alex shows her the next room. “The fun kind, you know.” Sam does know. She knows enough that when they get to the master bedroom, which is now Alex’s room, Sam kisses Alex. “You sure?” Alex asks. 

“I’m sure.” Sam kisses and guides Alex back, and soon Alex’s legs hit her bed and she sits, eyes going wide as Sam kneels in front of her. Sam unbuckles Alex’s belt and discards it behind her. “I don’t know what I’m doing…”

“It’s okay. You don’t have to,” Alex assures her. 

“I really want to.” Sam starts tugging off Alex’s pants. “Tell me if I’m doing it right.” Alex pulls off her underwear but before Sam can touch her, Alex kisses her. Tongues and teeth biting and exploring. Sam can feel her body react to the way Alex is holding the back of her neck. When Alex pulls back, Sam can see just how much her pupils have dilated. There’s urgency as she holds Sam’s neck tighter and tries not to push her to where she wants her. 

Sam gets the hint.

Tasting Alex isn’t like anything Sam has ever experienced. She loves the way Alex teases and grabs her hair. She knows she’s doing good and Alex mumbles as much. Sam can feel how wet she’s getting just from hearing the way Alex whispers fuck and pulls her head closer. Sam wants desperately to look up at Alex but she’s nervous. Afraid the mumbles and groans are a farce. A way to placate Sam’s desires. When she finally does glance up at Alex, she’s already looking back. “I’m close,” Alex pulls Sam’s mouth even closer and moves her hips just enough to finally cum. “Jesus.” Alex leans her head back and takes a few deep breaths. 

“Was it okay?” 

“Fucking amazing.” Alex pulls Sam up and onto the bed with her and kisses her again. This time, she’s less insistent about biting and more insistent about pulling Sam’s underwear down. “Can we try something?” 

“…maybe.” 

“Stay right here.” Alex stands and tugs off her shirt and bra and goes into her closet. When she returns she’s holding some kind of leather harness attached to a…

“Oh.” Sam draws blanks for what to say. All she can think about is how hot Alex will look wearing that and how good it’ll feel for her. “We could try.” Sam’s attempts at being coy fly out the window, as she watches Alex put the harness on and walk over with enough confidence to let Sam know that Alex has certainly done this before. 

The way Alex manages to easily lift Sam up - again - and lay her down on the bed is heartstopping. Sam gives into another flurry of kisses. Alex bites her neck, it’s bruising and makes Sam gasp just enough to quell the intense shudder she feels when Alex pushes inside her. “Tell me when I can move,” Alex pulls the straps of Sam’s dress down enough so that she can unhook Sam’s bra. Her mouth does things to Sam that she will remember for the rest of her life. “Alex, please…”

“Please what?” 

“Fuck me, please.” Unlike before, when Alex was testing out the boundaries and doing her best to go slow, today she moves their hips together with reckless abandon. Sam holds onto Alex, scratching her back, grabbing her face and letting Alex swallow her moans. “Harder.” Alex laughs against her neck and runs her thumb along Sam’s bottom lip. 

“Be patient, sweetheart.” Alex pulls back and Sam groans at the loss of contact. And then - so fast that Sam hardly realizes it’s happening - Sam is on her stomach, with Alex behind her. “Is this alright?”

“Absolutely,” Sam says. The angle is better like this. Alex can go deeper and when Alex wraps her arm around Sam’s neck, just enough to feel possessive, Sam knows she’s a goner. Alex’s stamina is impressive and Sam is surprised she’s lasted this long with the way Alex has been going. “Harder, I’m close.” Alex listens to her. She goes faster and harder and deeper, all the while nipping at Sam’s neck. 

“I want you to cum, baby,” Alex tells her. “Cum for me, okay.” So Sam does. Again and again, and Alex doesn’t stop rocking her hips. Sam gets totally lost in her bliss, in the way she and Alex seem to fit so perfectly. 

The end isn’t really the end. Alex takes off the harness and holds Sam in her arms. They kiss like two kids trying not to get caught in the back of a movie theater. There’s laughter and plenty of it. Sam is still trying to catch her breath and Alex is gently kissing the hickeys on Sam’s neck. “You felt really good,” Sam admits, Alex’s smile tells Sam that she already knows. “God, Alex, I…I don’t do things like this.” 

“I know.” 

“Was it just…” Sam motions to the bed. “Something you thought would be fun?”

“It’s more than that.” Alex sits up so Sam can see her face. “I like spending time with you.” 

“You’ll get bored of me,” Sam assures her. 

“I might get comfortable with you if that’s what you mean. But bored? Not a chance.” 

“You’re sweet.” Sam nuzzles closer to Alex. “Maybe misguided too.” Alex holds her close and kisses her shoulder. “I have a daughter. I’m a teacher at the high school. I just don’t know if…”

“Did everyone get in your head about me?”

“No.” 

“They must have.”

“It’s not like that. What I’m trying to say is I don’t know where I fit into your life. I think it’s fun for you when I’m just this woman who believes too strongly in a thing that seems to have driven you away but…do you actually want to test this out? As in…something beyond the bedroom?”

“Yeah, I do.” Alex looks toward the window for a moment. “I need to take care of some things out there. Feel free to stay, if you’d like.”

“I might take a nap.” 

“I wore you out, huh?” Sam nudges Alex off the bed and Alex laughs all the way out of the room. Sam snoops - just a little - and changes into a warm oversized shirt. Sam hasn’t felt quite at home anywhere, let alone Wyoming, until right now. 

Sam will pick up Ruby from camp tomorrow. It’ll be a relief in one sense but also somewhat of a reckoning for these past few weeks. 

She doesn’t sleep. She watches Alex go in and out of the barn for a while before heading into the kitchen and finishing up the dishes. She feels particularly domestic and it doesn’t feel wrong. Sam is delighted by the fact that none of this feels wrong. “You look good in that,” Alex says from the kitchen door. 

“Sorry, I…”

“It’s okay. I like it.” Alex tugs off her work boots and sets them by the front door. 

“It’s getting late, I should…” Sam looks down at her bare legs. “Do you have some sweatpants I can borrow?”

“Yeah.” Alex disappears down the hallway and returns moments later with Sam’s clothes neatly folded and sweatpants that say East Clinton High down the side. Sam tugs them on and smiles at the way Alex looks at her. “So…I’m thinking.”

“Uh oh.”

“Yeah, ‘uh oh’.” Alex scratches the back of her neck. “Maybe I should meet your kid.” Sam’s eyes widen. “No pressure, but…well, I figure that’d be the test anyway. And we obviously have incredible chemistry.”

“According to you.” 

“According to the way you moaned my name, actually.” Sam would shove Alex again if she was closer. “Look…I like you. I want you to give me a chance. So, whenever you’re ready - if you’re ready - my door is always open.” It sounds like a beautiful speech to end a brief summer fling. Alex walks Sam to her car, kisses her hand, and waves goodbye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has maybe been one of my favorite fics to write, so there's that. Thank you for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Sam has almost made peace with the ending, until the next day when she’s laughing as Ruby talks a mile a minute about camp while they’re driving back home. “And…oh my gosh, mom! We got to go horseback riding and it was SO COOL!” Ruby turns to Sam and shows Sam her best puppy eyes. “Can we please get a horse?”**  
**

“No.”

“Please!”

“Ruby…” Sam should be embarrassed that she can come up with such an easy excuse to see Alex again, but she isn’t. Alex was right. If anything more was going to happen between them, then Alex had to meet Ruby. “I have a friend who owns a few horses. You might not be able to ride them, but I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if we paid her a visit.” 

“You have friends?” 

“I guess we’ll just go home and do some yard work-.”

“No! I was just kidding.” Ruby says frantically turning the radio to Sam’s favorite station. “Mom?” Ruby says after a few beats. “I’m happy I’m back home.” The thing Sam loves most about Ruby is the way she lets her excitement show. Her eyes get wide as they approach Alex’s ranch and she presses her nose to the window, watching Alex riding one of her horses in the open field. 

Alex spots them right away and rides over. As they get out of the car, Ruby is staring up at Alex like she’s some kind of superhero. She’s in her usual jeans, t-shirt, and flannel, but today she’s added a cowboy hat that absolutely makes Sam swoon. “I dig the hat,” Sam says while Alex smoothly slides off the saddle and lands on the ground.

“Thanks.” Alex notices Ruby and Sam can see just how nervous she is. “And who might this be?”

“This is my daughter.” Sam wraps her arm around Ruby’s shoulder. “Ruby.”

“Hi, there.” Alex spots Ruby’s eyes on the giant horse behind Alex. “This is Smalls.” Smalls is anything but small and before Alex can go out and introduce Ruby to all the horses, she plops her cowboy hat on top of Sam’s head, and whispers, “Don’t worry, I got this.” 

Sam marvels at Alex. She isn’t just good with Ruby, she’s perfect. Sam looks up to the sky thankful that she’s being watched over and protected. She is loved, Sam thinks as she watches Ruby sit atop a horse while Alex stands beside her. No more running. No more searching. Sam has finally found home. 

In the car, after Alex makes them grilled cheese sandwiches and finally gives Sam her phone number - I don’t have a cellphone, but I’ve got a landline, she’d said all coy and charming - Sam drives Ruby home. That song, the one that showed Sam a side of Alex that was hers for the taking, comes on the radio. Sam mouths the words just like Alex had, and Ruby pulls off her shoes and sticks her stinky feet a few inches out the window. “My camp counselor, Emily…” Ruby mulls over her next words thoughtfully. “She has a girlfriend.”

“Oh yeah?” Sam’s palms sweat and she’s never felt more put on the spot than she does right now. 

“They’re both really cool…” Ruby glances over at Sam who keeps her eyes planted on the long road ahead. “I like Alex,” Ruby finally says. 

“Me too,” Sam admits, though she isn’t sure if Ruby understands just how much she really likes Alex. “It was nice of her to let you ride out there, huh?”

“Totally.” Ruby taps Sam’s shoulder. “She’s kind of a dork. She kept looking at you the whole time.” 

“She was just being friendly.”

“Ugh. Mom.” Sam can see Ruby roll her eyes out of the corner of her eye. “Stop being so embarrassing.”

“What?”

“Alex obviously has a big fat crush on you!” Sam struggles not to swerve the car and kill them both. “You should go out with her-.”

“Ruby!”

“What?! She’s cool and she has horses.” Ruby twinkles her toes against the summer night air. “And if you get married, we could move there. I could ride horses every day.” Ruby is beaming, Sam can’t help but at least smile. 

“One step at a time,” Sam insists. 

“I knew you liked her too,” Ruby sing-songs. “I can’t believe you had a summer romance while I was gone.” Ruby turns up the radio. Sam rolls down her window, smiles to herself and decides that it’s about time for a real date with Alex. Sam spots Alex’s bible in Ruby’s hands just as the chorus of the song builds. She sees little sticky notes poking out of the sides. 

“Where’d you get that?”

“Oh, Alex said to give it to you.” Ruby thumbs through it. “All of these notes just say…made me think of you.” The fact that there are at least fifty notes, brings incomprehensible joy to Sam. “This song is really good.” Ruby turns the song up even louder. Sam lets the words encompass her whole being. 

_Queen of the rodeo, you rode on in with nowhere else to go…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! This was really fun to write, so maybe I need to find ways to do more 3 chapter fics cause that's a lot easier for me.

**Author's Note:**

> This is three parts and I'll be posting them on my tumblr first and then here. Thanks for reading!


End file.
